


Upgrade

by Project0506



Series: ARC Design [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Brothers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Happy Ending, Mild Angst, gen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23695870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Project0506/pseuds/Project0506
Summary: Echo and Fives are ARC now.  Domino knows it's about time they move on to better things.Echo and Fives disagree.
Series: ARC Design [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700914
Comments: 47
Kudos: 601





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**Author's Note:**

> In which Domino isn't quite as good as Rex at Healthy Adult Communication but managed to Address Their Conflict regardless.

“So when do you guys move out?”

There’s never really dead silence in the Domino barracks. Someone’s always talking or snoring or typing or _something_. This is the first time since they’ve been assigned this room that the walls have rung silent.

Droidbait whimpers.

“Force fuck a _sith_ , Hevy!” Cutup hisses. Hevy doesn’t look at either of them. They can talk about it and around it between the three of them as long as they want. They won’t get an answer until they go to the source.

Echo’s face is blank, blank, blank. His stance is blank, is body language nonexistent. Gives nothing away. An ARC, Hevy thinks. An officer, as soon as the Captain can figure out how to do it without some other battalion poaching them.

Fives doesn’t get up from his bunk. He catches The Captain’s pauldron on the down arch. Tosses it up again. Catches. Again. Again. Silent, calm. He’s got all day to wait and doesn’t mind it. It’s like trying to make an excuse to the Captain or Lt Kix. Yeah, these two are gonna make officer any day now.

Droidbait breaks. One of the three of them would, eventually. Captain Rex trained Fives and Echo personally. “It’s not like _that_ ,” he insists.

“Isn’t it?” Echo’s face went blank but Fives? Fives is smiling, just a little. His face is open, friendly, inviting. Hevy’s familiar with that smile, Fives hasn’t got it in him to be glum for long. Even when there’s nothing going on he’s more given to smiling than not. Fives turns that smile on him. It’s somehow worse than Echo’s blank look. It's only friendly if you don't look at his eyes. “Because it sounds a lot like you’re kicking us out, Corporal. Looks a lot like you guys have been discussing how to do it.”

Droidbait is looking anxiously between him and Fives, twitching with nerves. “It’s not like that,” he repeats. He sounds a half step from crying. “But you guys. You’re _ARC_ now. Officer.”

“Still Corporals,” Echo points out. “Just like a _ll of you_.” Hevy isn’t sure he’s ever heard Echo properly angry before.

“Basically Officer,” Cutup mumbles. Fives turns that smile on him and he flinches.

“You’re a different level now,” Hevy steps in, moves just that little bit to draw their eyes back to him. He’s still squad leader, for whatever that’s worth. His job is to protect the squad, settle disputes. Bite the bolt. “You’re entitled to a whole lot better than _this_.” Hevy gestures to their tiny, cramped dorm that they have expended to fill. The bottom bunk under Hevy’s is their shit storage for whenever there isn’t an inspection due. Echo’s breastplate is drying there. He had wanted to wait until they got back to barracks to add his handprint. It’s out of place, an elite ARC’s armor among their pile of crap.

“What you _mean_ is,” Fives says pleasantly, “We’re entitled to a whole lot better than Domino.” Droidbait and Cutup both flinch. Hevy settles into a relaxed stance.

“Yessir,” he confirms. Echo’s fists clench.

Fives' face drops to hard. “Yeah,” he addresses towards Echo without moving his eyes from Hevy. “Go ahead and punch him.”

Echo cocks a hip against Fives’ bunk and folds his arms. “Think I’m too angry for that,” he replies. “Might break something.” They’re a united defense, Hevy thinks. This hurts, but they’ll have each other.

Fives hums. “Fair,” he allows. His stare is unfriendly. It’s the hurt in his face that’s the worst. “Hey Hevy, try using the soft bits under your bucket every once in a while,” he says flatly. “The idiot act is starting to get old.”

“We’re _home_ ,” Echo bites out. “And if you don’t want us here anymore then _grow a karking pair_ and say that. But _don’t_ try to act like it’s us that’s wants to leave.”

“You _deserve better_ ,” Hevy barks. _Fuck_ these two for making him say it. “You’ve _made it_ , you’ve _become somebody_. Why in the sith fucking hells are you letting your old cadet squad hold you back?”

“We’re not like you guys,” Cutup says in the silence. “We’re not Officer track, we’re not ARC. We’re just. We’re _infantry_.” Cannon fodder, trainers used to joke, back on Kamino. Droidbait shuffles. Hevy knows he agrees. They all do. “You guys are the best of us. You’re the _best_ Domino could be. You should. You’ve got a lot more opportunity if you just.” He stops. He knows the words but it hurts too much to say them. Domino has been together a long, long time, after all. Longest in Torrent, Hevy knows. They should have let Echo and Fives go free a long time ago.

“Hey Echo,” Fives drawls. “Hear that? They’re not ARCs.”

Echo scoffs. “News to me, Fives,” he grits back. “How long have they been hiding _that_ from us?”

“Look,” Hevy cuts in before they can really get going. “You don’t have to be assholes about this-”

“Disagree,” Echo cuts in.

“Echo.” At Five’s command Echo falls silent. Hevy doesn’t want to meet his gaze. He can’t not.

Fives’ eyes glitter with intent.

“Echo,” he repeats. “ _They’re not ARCs_.”

It means something to those two, but Hevy couldn’t guess what. He watches them do that silent talking thing they do, that thing they’ve done since Domino was the least cohesive squad in their batch but they’ve honed it to perfection since they’ve stepped up a level. Echo cuts a glance to each one of them, calculation replacing the anger. It’s no less concerning.

“I see it,” he says eventually. Turns back to Fives, tips his head. They’ve agreed. “Domino, armor up.”

What?

“He _said_ ,” Fives says, rolls to his feet, advances like something predatory. “ _Armor up_. _Now_ troopers.”

Domino is heading for their shells before any of them even realize. It’s the voice. What the fuck.

“You want us to move into ARC-appropriate barracks?” Fives asks sweetly. He helps Hevy get his shoulder harnesses in place, his backplate over that. Gives it the customary tap to make sure it sits right. The tap is a lot heavier than typical. Just on the edge of really fucking hurting. “Then sure. We’ll go. But Hevy.” His smile is more genuine now, but twice as vicious. “We’re dragging you karking meatbreads with us.”

“The next four months are going to fucking suck, gentlemen,” Echo says. He and Fives armor up in half the time. “Just remember.” He gives them all a wild grin before his head disappears inside his bucket. “You asked for it.”

“Armed combat training hall in ten,” Fives calls cheerfully and follows his brother out. “You don’t want to be late. _Oya_ , Domino!”

“What?” Droidbait asks plaintively. Hevy doesn’t know. This wasn’t anything like how he expected this to go.

“Just curious,” Cutup muses. “What do you think will happen if we _are_ late?”

The three members of Domino share an alarmed look and scarper.


End file.
